Thesis
The finger pointing to the moon: Perennial philosophy and John Milton
Washington State University
Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
2010
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/100444
Abstract
This thesis examines some of John Milton's prose and poetry, particularly Christian Doctrine and Paradise Lost, through the lens of Aldous Huxley's Perennial Philosophy. The primary argument is that readers cannot fully understand Milton without imaginarily inhabiting Milton's non-dual worldview. Among other things, the Perennial Philosophy is a rough unified theory of non-dualism. I concur with Stanley Fish that such a non-dual worldview as Milton's is different from the common Liberal worldview prevalent throughout the modern West. While Fish gives a non-dual reading of Milton in his book How Milton Works, I argue that a Perennialist reading of Milton both corroborates and broadens Fish's thesis. The result is that liberal readers of Milton must confront some of the limits and assumptions of their own worldview if they are to grasp the radical difference of Milton's worldview.
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Details
- Title
- The finger pointing to the moon
- Creators
- Seth Huebner
- Contributors
- Todd Wayne Butler (Degree Supervisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Washington State University
- Academic Unit
- English, Department of
- Theses and Dissertations
- Master of Arts (MA), Washington State University
- Publisher
- Washington State University; Pullman, Wash. :
- Identifiers
- 99900525289401842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Thesis